Tag Archives: Alex Ovechkin

Although it was a Tuesday to forget for the Flyers, who fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, there was something that should make the Philly faithful smile.

At some point during the Washington Capitals – Montreal Canadiens game, Capitals’ captain Alex Ovechkin hip checks Canadiens’ rookie PK Subban in the open ice. Subban flies up in the air and almost lands directly on his head. The rookie then went after Ovechkin, only to receive a penalty.

Earlier in the season, Flyers’ captain Mike Richards prognosticated that Subban would eventually receive his on-ice punishment for running his mouth in excess as a rookie.

According to a report by TSN, the NHL is expected to announce two Winter Classic games in 2011 starting with the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on New Year’s Day and the Calgary Flames versus the Montreal Canadiens in a place to be determined and a time to be determined in February. The official announcement is expected to come on Friday.

Tonight at the Wachovia Center, two of the Eastern Conference’s hottest teams meet in an early-season heavyweight match up. The Washington Capitals and the home-coming Flyers are 2-0 on the season, both smiting the early opposition in convincing fashion, putting the out-of-division rivals on a collision course.

In his latest column, further pushing the stagnant marketing strategy of individualization of hockey, Scott Burnside of ESPN made it perfectly clear that he believes the Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin should be involved in the Winter Classic in place of the Philadelphia Flyers. And even though Burnside is just trying to grow the game, albeit with a strategy that has clearly maxed out its potential, he’s still simply wrong.

With less than five minutes to play in the third period, the Washington Capitals took the dominating 4-2 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins with the third goal of the night from Alex Ovechkin. As the hats came flying off at the Verizon Center in celebration of the hat trick from their beloved superstar, Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby could be seen chatting up the referee.

When asked about what he and the ref talked about, Crosby did the worst thing possible: Answer that question honestly to the media.

“People kept throwing hats,” he said. “I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop. I mean, the first wave came and then I think they were all pretty much picked up, and then more started coming. So for us, we just wanted to make sure we kept kind of moving and kept the game going, wanted to try to get back in it. So wasn’t complaining about anything.”

For a player who has the infamous reputation of whiner and complainer, Crosby did no favors for himself admitting to his attempts to cease the fan’s celebration, like his demands could even be met.

And as Crosby, who netted a hat trick himself, whines about the celebrations, Ovechkin continues to separate himself from the league-appointed savior, as the real king of the NHL.

After losing the first two games at home in their series with the New York Rangers, the Capitals are desperate for answers. So much so, that captain Alex Ovechkin was caught attempting to watch the Rangers practice at Madison Square Garden.

After just a few moments of observing, Rangers’ coach John Tororella asked Ovechkin to leave. The Rangers PR staff offered him a seat in the stands, but he declined, but clearly made a point with the obscure move.

“I think it was more of a lack of knowing the rules, that’s all,” Boudreau said. “They asked him to leave; he left. He just went out there and he wants to be around the rink. I don’t think he had a pen and paper, writing down line combinations or anything, but I can understand, I’ve gotten into the same arguments with different people when I want privacy in my practice, so I can understand what John was going through as well. ”

When asked about it, Rangers’ coach John Tortorella avoided knowing anything about the situation.

“Oh, God, I didn’t even know,” Tortorella said. “This is the first I’ve heard of it. Ask me a question about the game, not that crap.”

About

Ryan Bright (Philabright@gmail.com) is a sports writer, born and raised in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of West Chester University, he has been with the Daily Local News in Chester County since early 2007, working as the paper's college and high school ice hockey beat writer. In 2010, began as a contributer for CSNPhilly.com, covering the Flyers and the Philadelphia Union.

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